PEIMS Changes for 2022
Does your district have a truancy prevention plan in place? Per the 2022-23 Student Attendance Accounting Handbook (https://tea.texas.gov/finance-and-grants/financial-compliance/student-attendance-accounting-handbook) “A child engages in truant conduct if the child is required to attend school under the TEC, §25.085, and fails to attend school on 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period in the same school year. School districts must adopt truancy prevention measures designed to address student conduct related to truancy before the student engages in truant conduct, and the district must minimize the need for referrals to truancy court for absences in accordance with the TEC, §25.0915. 71 The district also must consider the best practices for truancy prevention measures found in 19 TAC §129.1045. In addition, tardies generally are not considered absences for purposes of compulsory attendance enforcement (2022-23 SAAH Section: 3.5 Compulsory Attendance; PG 54)” Best practice is to include your district’s truancy prevention plan with your student’s families upon enrollment. This plan can be added to your student handbook or your attendance procedures manual.
Sign up now for the newly-updated PEIMS Changes for 2022-23 online course!
The following are steps your district can take to ensure that your child attends school regularly and is successful. If you have not created a truancy plan yet, you can use the steps below to get started!
- Student fails to attend school without an excuse on 3 or more days (or parts of days) within a 4-week period.
- This is the event that moves your district into action regarding the student who is missing school.
- Your District must inform student’s parent of:
- the student’s absence;
- the parent’s duty to monitor the student’s school attendance and require the student to attend school; and
- that the student is subject to truancy prevention measures. The school district must also request a conference between school officials and the parent to discuss the absences.
- Warning/conference request letter will be sent out and conference will be scheduled.
- During the conference, a truancy prevention plan not to exceed 45 days, will be put in place. Goals to meet, penalties, additional disciplinary action, or the referral of the student and/or parent to a truancy court will be discussed and a signed agreement will be made between the school personnel, parent, and student.
- During the conference a follow up appointment to review how the student is progressing will be scheduled
- If the student continues to miss school during the 45-day plan and/or at the scheduled follow-up appointment it is determined that the student has reached 10 or more unexcused days (or parts of days) within a 6-month period, your district can and shall within 10 school days of the student’s 10th absence refer the student to a truancy court for truant conduct under Section 65.003(a), Family Code. Education Code § 5.0951(a),
Your district may NOT file against the student, if it is determined that the student’s truancy is the result of:
- Pregnancy
- Being in the state foster program
- Homelessness; or
- Being the principal income earner for the student’s family.
Your district should offer additional counseling if the above is determined
We submit three Truancy data elements in our Summer PEIMS Submission.
- Excessive-Unexcused-Absence-Indicator Code * Typically there is a SIS Utility, or this indicator may be Automatically generated
- Definition update: Indicates a student who is required to attend school under TEC 25.085, and are not exempted under TEC 25.086, and fail to attend school without excuse for 10 or more days or parts of days within a six-month period of a school year. An unexcused absence is defined as any absence that is not excused by state law or LEA local policy. A partial day is defined in accordance with LEA local policy.
- Truancy-Prevention-Measure-Indicator Code * Must be manually coded in SIS
- Indicates the LEA initiated a truancy prevention measure under TEC 25.0915 (a-4) for the student.
- Truancy-Complaint-Filed-Indicator Code * Must be manually coded in SIS
- Indicates whether an attendance officer or other school official has filed a complaint against a student’s parent or legal guardian under TEC 25.093.
These data elements are only reported the first time a student reaches the threshold of 10 or more days or parts of days. Please contact Laura Jandle at ljandle@charterschool success.com if you have any questions or would like assistance putting a truancy prevention plan in place for your district!